About Roberto Matta

Like Salvador Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory (1931), Crucifiction (1938) by Chilean painter Roberto Matta is considered a Surrealist masterpiece. Indeed, Matta was heavily influenced by Dalí and Yves Tanguy, and became an important figure in the evolution of Surrealism, painting dreamlike, internal "inscapes" early on and, later, intense compositions reflecting the psychic damage caused by Europe’s ongoing wars. Shifting biomorphic shapes painted or drawn in vivid colors populated Matta’s often-apocalyptic scenes, conveying confusion and angst. Additionally, Matta's style and willing exploration of the Surrealist philosophy of "automatic composition" heavily influenced the development of the Abstract Expressionist school’s exploration of Action painting.

Chilean, 1911-2002, Santiago, Chile, based in New York, Rome and Chile